Chapter 16
It was late, nearly five in the morning when Raul walked into the quiet, still house.
The day butler greeted him at the door, asking if he needed anything.
When he said no, they left him alone. As he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, Raul thought about Wyatt’s offer to try one of his farm-raised blood pets. Turning him down had been easy.
Their blood would have tasted like ash in his mouth after Ji-Su’s sweetness. And he damn sure hadn’t wanted what else was clearly on offer. His one sexual encounter with Ji-Su had been weeks ago but he still had zero desire to so much as touch anyone else.
Walking down the hall to his room, he saw that Ji-Su’s bedroom door was open and a light was on.
Damnit. He’d hoped that Ji-Su would already be asleep.
He drew abreast of the door, prepared to give a quick goodnight as he passed by on the way to his room.
But when he looked inside the room, he saw that Ji-Su wasn’t awake.
He was asleep on top of the comforter, with a throw blanket tossed over his bare legs.
Raul stopped and stared at Ji-Su curled up in the center of his bed.
He looked adorable. His blond hair glowed under the lamplight and his rosebud lips were parted for his slow, even breaths.
Noticing that Ji-Su’s game unit was in danger of falling to the floor from his lax hand, Raul stepped into the room.
He moved quietly, intending only to move the game to the nightstand and turn off the lamp.
But just when he reached toward the bed Ji-Su stirred.
He stretched, his eyes slowly opening as he covered a little yawn with his hand.
“You’re back,” he said sleepily.
Raul nodded. “Just walked in.”
“It’s Wednesday. You missed your feeding. I tried to wait up for you but I guess I fell asleep.”
Something warmed in Raul’s chest hearing that Ji-Su had waited up for him. He liked the idea of Ji-Su waiting for him at home. Liked it too much. “That’s okay. You can go back to sleep.”
Ji-Su shook his head and sat up. “You can drink now since you’re here.”
“I don’t want to disturb your rest.” Raul’s fangs sharpened, giving lie to his words.
“I don’t mind,” Ji-Su whispered.
Unable to think of a reason to turn down Ji-Su’s offer when it was what he desperately wanted, Raul dropped to his knees at the side of the bed. He started to reach for Ji-Su’s hand to take from the wrist as usual. But he could hear the blood rushing in more tempting areas.
He looked up, his eyes locking on the vein pumping in Ji-Su’s throat.
With that single glance, he knew the wrist wouldn’t satisfy him tonight.
He needed to feel his fangs sink into the delicate line of Ji-Su’s neck.
This one time. And only because he was tired and his will power was weakened by the tequila he’d imbibed earlier that night.
After this, he would go back to his usual emotionally detached bites at the wrist.
“I want to take from the neck tonight.” He was already unzipping Ji-Su’s hoodie as he spoke. The slow rasp of the zipper lowering preceded Ji-Su’s agreeing nod.
“That’s fine.”
Raul rose to sit on the edge of the bed. He parted the soft material of the hooded jacket, revealing Ji-Su’s throat and thin sleep shirt.
“Are you seeing anyone?” Ji-Su suddenly asked.
“No. Why?”
Ji-Su shrugged. “Just curious.”
“Hmmm.” He hummed once, unsure why Ji-Su had asked him that question. But since it didn’t seem to be that important to him, he gave his attention to what he was about to do. Even though he was taking from the neck, he would keep this bite impersonal. Casual. Ji-Su was simply doing his job.
Raul leaned down until his lips brushed Ji-Su’s throat, letting them linger to feel the beat of his pulse. Then, he slowly opened his mouth and bared his fangs. Hunger aching deep in his gut, he bit.
Impersonal went out the window the second Ji-Su’s blood hit his tongue. His taste was perfection, better than expensive aged tequila, better than any other human on the planet.
With a groan, he slipped a hand beneath Ji-Su to cup the back of his head and lift him up, bring him closer. He drank at a languid pace, savoring the blood, letting it slide over his tongue and down his throat so that every single taste receptor had a chance to be blessed with the flavor.
As he always did when he bit Ji-Su, he grew hard.
His cock throbbed behind his pants from the moment the first drops of blood touched his fangs.
But this time his body’s reaction was dangerous.
He was walking a fine line drinking from his little blood pet while he was in bed, soft and sleep warm.
It would be too easy to stretch out on the mattress, pull Ji-Su beneath him, and slide inside him as he drank.
Determined to ignore the instinct that urged him to do exactly that, he let his eyes drift shut, concentrating on the bite, and the scent and feel of Ji-Su’s skin brushing his cheek.
A second later, his concentration was broken when Ji-Su moaned, his back arching as he tried to press closer to Raul.
Raul’s eyes popped open at the sound of that moan.
Fuck, he mentally cursed as he realized he hadn’t held back his pleasure venom.
There was nothing he could do about it now.
It was in Ji-Su’s system and he couldn’t take it back.
Ji-Su moaned again, his slender body starting to undulate in small, rolling waves.
He was clearly aroused from the venom, a fact that made satisfaction ripple over Raul’s skin.
A human would only react that way if they were already attracted to the vampire biting them.
He lowered a hand to Ji-Su’s side, planning only to settle and soothe him. But the pajama top had rucked up with his movements and Raul’s fingers landed on skin. Warm, silky smooth, bare skin.
Unable to resist, he kept his hand on Ji-Su’s body, sweeping his fingers up and down to caress his waist. He wanted more.
He let his fingers slide down, dipping past the waistband of Ji-Su’s pajama bottoms to brush over his hip.
Raul groaned. He needed more. His hand left the shorts, but he continued his downward path until he reached Ji-Su’s bare leg.
Raul caressed his thigh, feeling the soft as down hair against his palm.
He gripped his thigh once and squeezed. Ji-Su gasped in reaction.
That was enough. Enough blood and enough touching. He forced his hand away from the warm, supple limb and slowly, reluctantly, withdrew his fangs.
“You taste...” Raul trailed off into silence, unwilling to say aloud what he thought of drinking Ji-Su’s blood.
Like heaven, he finished to himself as he licked the bite marks closed.
For several moments, he stayed there with his face tucked into Ji-Su’s neck, breathing in his scent as the heady feeding haze crested and then faded away.
He lowered Ji-Su back to the pillow, released him fully, and sat up straight.
He stroked his thumb over the bite mark.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ji-Su whispered as he lay there, arms above his head, fingers curled into his palms, loose and defenseless. His expression was soft and slumberous, and his dark eyes glittered with arousal as he stared up at Raul.
Raul stared back, his heart racing and desire humming in his blood.
He wanted this lovely human. Wanted him so much that Ji-Su was constantly on his mind.
A thought slipped into his blood and tequila hazed mind.
What type of lover was Ji-Su? Would the human’s sexual preferences align with his own?
He hoped so. Nothing would please him more than to have Ji-Su lay back in his bed while he set to work worshipping and pleasuring every inch of his body.
He was happy that Ji-Su was there in his home.
More than he’d ever been with another blood pet.
With the others, he’d been glad of the convenience for blood and sometimes sex.
He’d even been glad for the company. But with Ji-Su, he wanted him.
His presence there filled Raul with a sense of rightness.
Of contentment. But he realized he didn’t know how Ji-Su felt about being at the ranch.
Would he even want to consider staying once their contract was up?
He had to touch him one more time. He brushed a hand over his soft hair, then cupped his cheek. To his pleased surprise, Ji-Su nuzzled into his touch. His chest tightened. Maybe he was being foolish waiting until their contract ended. If Ji-Su liked him, liked his home, why did he need to wait?
“Do you like being here?” he asked.
Ji-Su nodded. “I do. I’m grateful that you took me in. And for all the help you’ve given me.”
There it was again. Gratitude. Raul didn’t know why that bothered him so much but it did. He dropped his hand from Ji-Su’s cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment, annoyed at the disappointment intruding on his happy buzz.
“You can sleep here if you’re too tired to go to your room,” Ji-Su quietly offered.
Raul opened his eyes to stare at his blood pet.
He recognized the invitation for what it was.
If he slept here, he wouldn’t be able to resist making love to Ji-Su after feeding from him.
But he didn’t want Ji-Su to sleep with him out of obligation—because he thought he owed him his body as payment for all the assistance he’d provided.
He looked away from the enticing sight in front of him as he thought of a reason to say no.
“I smell like cigar smoke. I don’t want to stink up your bed,” he finally said.
There was a beat of silence before Ji-Su spoke again.
“Right. That would be a tragedy.” Ji-Su sat up against the headboard and zipped his hoodie with a quick yank. In his haste, he caught a finger in the zipper’s metal teeth. Skin tore and a small drop of blood beaded up. “Ouch!”
“Let me see.” Raul took the injured hand, lightly holding it between both of his own.
Raising the small, fine-boned hand to his mouth, he met Ji-Su’s gaze as he closed his lips over the tip of his finger.
He tasted the blood on his tongue as he licked it once to heal the small wound, and again to feel his soft skin on his tongue.
Then, he slowly released Ji-Su’s finger from his mouth. “There. All better.”
“Thank you.”
Ji-Su took his hand back and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie.
Raul noted that the slumberous mood was gone, replaced by cool, awkward silence.
Ji-Su looked down at his bare legs. He quickly tugged the throw blanket back into place. After he was covered, he avoided Raul’s gaze, but glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
Raul got the message. It was time for him to go.
“I’ll let you get back to sleep,” he said.
Ji-Su didn’t look at him when he responded.
“Good night.”
It took a near Herculean effort, but Raul managed to push himself off the bed away from Ji-Su and walk across the room to leave. But he didn’t go far. Once the door was closed behind him, he leaned his back against it.
He could have had Ji-Su beneath him, those little shorts off and tossed away, and been inside him in less than a minute. Fuck. Why did Ji-Su have to look like that and be so sweet and taste so good? How was he supposed to resist him without losing his goddamn mind?
He raked his hands through his hair and pressed his palms against his temples as he reminded himself why he couldn’t start anything with his blood pet right now.
Ji-Su was grateful he’d been rescued from Cedric and he had the shadow of a million-dollar debt hanging over his head.
Both of which would no doubt influence his decisions concerning a relationship with his blood patron.
After another hard press to his temples, Raul straightened and walked down the hall to his room.
He was doing the right thing by waiting.
Once their contract was up and Ji-Su didn’t feel any sense of obligation toward him, he would approach him for a more personal and intimate relationship.
Until then, he would ignore his urge to kiss and touch the delicate human he was desperately attracted to. There were only eight months to go.
In the meantime... Raul leaned back against his bedroom door.
He unzipped his pants and shoved his hand inside.
His cock was still hard and he was too impatient to undress and get in bed.
Taking hold of his throbbing cock, he jerked himself off until he came with the sound of Ji-Su’s moans playing in his head.
THE MOMENT RAUL LEFT his room, Ji-Su shoved his pajama bottoms off and slipped beneath the covers.
Then, with his heart pounding, he waited for Raul’s footsteps to head off down the hall.
He didn’t want Raul’s keen vampire hearing to detect what he was about to do.
A few moments later, Ji-Su heard Raul’s bedroom door open and close. And then...
“Ahhh!”
Ji-Su grasped his cock and started to stroke.
With Raul’s pleasure venom singing through his veins, he was so turned on, his cock so hard, there was no way he was going to fall asleep without a release.
He continued pumping his cock with one hand while with the other he clumsily fumbled in the nightstand for the lube he’d ordered.
He didn’t even bother to stop stroking when he squirted the slick liquid on his cock.
Shivers swept down his spine when his rough, dry strokes turned smooth and gliding from the lube.
Ji-Su bit his lip to hold back a moan. He wanted Raul.
Wanted to be tucked beneath that big body while Raul took control and made love to him until his toes curled and he came over and over.
He was hurt that Raul had turned down his offer—an offer that was clearly for more than sleep—but his arousal was stronger than his hurt.
“R-Raul.” His patron’s name stuttered out of him on a shaky breath as his coming release tightened the muscles behind his navel.
He moved his hand faster and faster, racing for the edge of sharp, blinding pleasure.
When he reached it, his body bowed off the bed, his climax spilling over his fingers in hot, wet pulses.
“Mmm... yes,” he whispered softly. Ji-Su pumped himself through it, until sensitivity made him stop and loosen his grip.
Once his orgasm eased off, Ji-Su let his hand drop from his softened cock onto the bed.
That release felt good. Was exactly what he needed.
But... Ji-Su shifted on the bed, rubbing his legs against the soft material of the sheets.
Raul’s venom wasn’t completely out of his blood stream.
It was still swirling in his veins, making his skin tingle.
Ji-Su lightly brushed a finger over his cock. Even soft, it twitched at the touch. He had a feeling he was going to have to go for another round before he had Raul completely out of his system.